When asked as a child to name my hobbies, my usual response was “books.” I wasn’t athletic or artistic; I couldn’t play a musical instrument or entertain an audience on stage. My skill was reading, and I honed it daily: on the bus ride to and from school (two hours a day just to read!Continue reading “Burying Books versus Praising Them”
Category Archives: Books
Bookshelf: The Scientist and the Spy
Ask me about places near my house that might be likely targets of industrial espionage operations and my mind would turn south. Head down Nixon Road and follow it a mile or so; at the second roundabout hang a right onto Huron Parkway, then start looking for the sign announcing the entrance to Ann Arbor’sContinue reading “Bookshelf: The Scientist and the Spy“
Further Reading: Three 2018 China Books to Check Out
Readers of the third edition of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know will have seen the extensive “Further Resources” section that Jeff Wasserstrom and I included at the end of the book. In that section, we recommend many dozens of books and articles that interested readers should seek out for moreContinue reading “Further Reading: Three 2018 China Books to Check Out”
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Happy New Year! January 1, of course, is a day traditionally spent thinking about the year that has just ended and making plans for the one that lies ahead, and I have been doing exactly that. I feel like 2018 was several years crammed into one: both in my own life and in the worldContinue reading “Looking Back, Moving Forward”
Weekly Wanderings: Away We Go Edition
• The “Weekend” alarm clock on my phone is set to go off at 7:00am (usually an ideal, not reality), but today my brain saw fit to nudge me awake at 5:30 in the morning. “Come on, get up, we have so much to do,” it whispered, bringing to the surface of my consciousness aContinue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Away We Go Edition”
Weekly Wanderings: Xi’s in it for the Long Haul Edition
• Since the third edition of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know touches on current events, Jeff Wasserstrom and I knew that there was a chance something we discussed might require updating even before the book’s official publication date. My money was on Jiang Zemin going to meet Marx, but insteadContinue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Xi’s in it for the Long Haul Edition”
Weekly Wanderings: Ringing in the Year of the Dog Edition
• 新年快乐！狗年大吉！(Happy New Year! Happy Year of the Dog!) Most of my Western New Year’s resolutions have already fallen by the wayside, but the Lunar New Year on Friday gave me the chance to start fresh all over again. My #1 resolution—a recurring one, I suppose—is to write here more, and to write more regularly.Continue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Ringing in the Year of the Dog Edition”
Weekly Wanderings: Random Things I’ve Read Edition
A bunch of things I’ve read and want to share, with a bit of commentary here and there … ▪ Wait inside the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and you’ll notice the same announcement playing every ten minutes or so: a reminder (first in English, then in Japanese and Chinese) that Detroit is inContinue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Random Things I’ve Read Edition”
Weekly Wanderings: Heavy and Light Edition
This has been a very weird week for me: although I’ve been surrounded by a bright and cheery Michigan summer filled with fun things to do, I’ve also been preoccupied with the many dark and dispiriting news stories surrounding the death of Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who died on Thursday while still serving anContinue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Heavy and Light Edition”
Weekly Wanderings: Roadblocks, Detours, and Roundabouts Edition
▪ How many times this spring did I tell myself, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll get up and start writing again. Tomorrow for sure”? Pretty much every day. But as the near-silence around these parts indicates, I never followed through. The #1 reason for this is that for the past several months I’ve found it nearly impossibleContinue reading “Weekly Wanderings: Roadblocks, Detours, and Roundabouts Edition”
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 